Flight assessment of a large supersonic drone aircraft for research use

An assessment is made of the capabilities of the BQM-34E supersonic drone aircraft as a test bed research vehicle. This assessment is made based on a flight conducted for the purpose of obtaining flight test measurements of wing loads at various maneuver flight conditions. Flight plan preparation, flight simulation, and conduct of the flight test are discussed along with a presentation of the test data obtained and an evaluation of how closely the flight test followed the test plan

Flying an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle: Key Factors for Risk Management

Only theoretical training of drone operators is not sufficient for safe integration and use of drone aircraft both in controlled and uncontrolled air space.Based on research and analysis of incidents caused by the use of drone aircraft during 2018. The global level can conclude that most of the incidents have been performed because of unskilled handling of drones, even though the persons who managed them were theoretically trained and possessed of drone management licenses.Purpose – for the purpose of mitigation of the risk of adverse effects of human and material resources in the work, the analysis of the Drone management.Design/methodology/approach – decision on which of the following key factors for risk assessment achieves the greatest impact on the safe handling of drone aircraft has been carried out by using the methods of analytical hierarchical processes, i.e. “fuzzy”Expanded AHP method based on”fuzzy”triangular numbers.Findings – Based on the results of the research, it concludes that the alternative – “a terrorist and practical training for the safe handling of drone aircraft” is essential for the safe handling of drone aircraft in the second place The ranked alternative “the need for knowledge and skills of sports pilots” in third place is the ranked alternative “only practical training is needed,” in the fourth place the alternative is “only theoretical training is needed” and the fifth match is a ranked alternative “is not Theoretical or practical training. “Practical Implications – established frames to increase the security of flying drones through an obligatory theoretical and practical training of drone operators.Social Implications – reduced risks of occurrence of adverse effects on human and material resources

In the mind of the predator: the possibility of psychological distress in the drone pilot community

In light of the increasing use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), commonly known as drones, and the equally increasing prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among U.S. veterans of recent wars, this study investigated the possible effects of piloting a drone aircraft and PTSD. Using a simulated drone aircraft in a computer game, the results showed that participants who simulated a drone attack and viewed the post-drone attack video reported significantly higher distress than those who viewed only the post-drone attack video. Females also showed higher distress levels than males. These results suggest the potential risks of psychological trauma even among pilots who are apparently physically far removed from the battlefield

Experiences with the design and implementation of flutter suppression systems

Research efforts aim at flutter suppression are discussed. The application of active controls technology to reduce the aeroelastic response of aircraft structures is discussed. Feedback control, control law design processes and synthesis, wind tunnel studies, and delta-wing wind tunnel models are discussed

Solar Panels Based on a Flexible Material the Quad-Rotor UAV System

In view of the current practical application of solar UAV, insufficient endurance, poor stability, poor practicality and low solar energy utilization. We have designed a new four-rotor drone aircraft with solar energy and flexible materials (such as perovskite) as solar panels

Overview of Langley activities in active controls research

The application of active controls technology to reduce aeroelastic response of aircraft structures offers a potential for significant payoffs in terms of aerodynamic efficiency and weight savings. The activities of the Langley Research Center (laRC) in advancing active controls technology. Activities are categorized into the development of appropriate analysis tools, control law synthesis methodology, and experimental investigations aimed at verifying both analysis and synthesis methodology

Development and application of an optimization procedure for flutter suppression using the aerodynamic energy concept

An optimization procedure is developed based on the responses of a system to continuous gust inputs. The procedure uses control law transfer functions which have been partially determined by using the relaxed aerodynamic energy approach. The optimization procedure yields a flutter suppression system which minimizes control surface activity in a gust environment. The procedure is applied to wing flutter of a drone aircraft to demonstrate a 44 percent increase in the basic wing flutter dynamic pressure. It is shown that a trailing edge control system suppresses the flutter instability over a wide range of subsonic mach numbers and flight altitudes. Results of this study confirm the effectiveness of the relaxed energy approach

Application of a systematic finite-element model modification technique to dynamic analysis of structures

For abstract see A82-30178

Digital robust control law synthesis using constrained optimization

Development of digital robust control laws for active control of high performance flexible aircraft and large space structures is a research area of significant practical importance. The flexible system is typically modeled by a large order state space system of equations in order to accurately represent the dynamics. The active control law must satisy multiple conflicting design requirements and maintain certain stability margins, yet should be simple enough to be implementable on an onboard digital computer. Described here is an application of a generic digital control law synthesis procedure for such a system, using optimal control theory and constrained optimization technique. A linear quadratic Gaussian type cost function is minimized by updating the free parameters of the digital control law, while trying to satisfy a set of constraints on the design loads, responses and stability margins. Analytical expressions for the gradients of the cost function and the constraints with respect to the control law design variables are used to facilitate rapid numerical convergence. These gradients can be used for sensitivity study and may be integrated into a simultaneous structure and control optimization scheme

Wake Vortex Attenuation Flight Tests: A Status Report

Flight tests were conducted to evaluate the magnitude of aerodynamic attenuation of the wake vortices of large transport aircraft that can be achieved through the use of static spoiler deflection and lateral control oscillation. These methods of attenuation were tested on Boeing B-747 and Lockheed L-1011 commercial transport aircraft. Evaluations were made using probe aircraft, photographic and visual observations, and ground based measurements of the vortex velocity profiles. The magnitude of attenuation resulting from static spoiler deflection was evaluated both in and out of ground effect. A remotely piloted QF-86 drone aircraft was used to probe the attenuated vortices in flight in and out of ground effect, and to make landings behind an attenuated B-747 airplane at reduced separation distances